Corporate responsibility

2021 environmental, social and governance highlights

Bell’s corporate responsibility approach balances economic growth, social responsibility and environmental sustainability. Focused on our purpose of advancing how Canadians connect with each other and the world, Bell provides millions of Canadian consumers and businesses with leading communications networks, services and media content. We are making a significant overall contribution to Canada’s social and economic prosperity while creating value for shareholders and providing meaningful careers for people nationwide.

The topics Bell reports on reflect the intersection of our company’s value chain, current and emerging sustainability trends and stakeholder interests, and their potential impacts on our business.

A 2021 research project, a collaboration between Bell, Québec-based solar energy company Stace and Université de Sherbrooke, studied the viability of these solar voltaic cells to generate renewable energy to provide primary power for remote telecommunications towers – displacing diesel generators and reducing the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change

Bell is taking action to help address climate change and adapt to its consequences. Our efforts to mitigate climate change start with energy consumption, as we strive to save energy and reduce associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while helping customers reduce theirs. For example, our networks are supporting remote work for millions of Canadians while averting GHG emissions related to travel. Among other targets, we are increasing electricity efficiency at Bell facilities, electrifying our fleet and generating renewable energy at remote sites. Reporting regularly on our energy performance and associated GHG emissions demonstrates to our stakeholders that we take these initiatives seriously.

Bell’s objective is to achieve carbon neutral operations starting in 2025. For 2030, we have set science-based GHG emissions reduction targets that are consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, in line with the most ambitious temperature goal of the Paris Agreement.

In 2021, we surpassed our GHG reduction target by 15%, with our GHG emissions per network usage showing a 55% improvement since 2019.

Bell’s 2021 intensity GHG reduction target
2019 actual 29 petabytes
2020 actual 19 -34% petabytes
2021 actual 13 -55% petabytes
2021 actual 17 -40% petabytes
GHG emissions (1) (tonnes of CO2e) divided by network usage (petabytes)
Target 2022
-1%
  • 1) Operational GHG emissions include scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. Scope 1 emissions are direct GHG emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by Bell. Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the consumption of purchased electricity, heating/cooling and steam required by Bell’s activities.
  • (2) Pending approval by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
  • (3) Science-based targets are GHG emissions reduction targets that are in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Diversity, equity & inclusion

At Bell, we are proud of our commitment to foster an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace where all team members feel valued, respected and supported. We are dedicated to building a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, with a commitment to ensuring every team member has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

A member of the 30% Club and a signatory to the Catalyst Accord 2022, Bell leads with more ambitious targets: we are aiming for a minimum of 35% gender-diverse representation among directors on the BCE Board moving forward, and at least 35% of Bell leaders at the vice-presidential (VP) level and above by the end of 2023.

Bell continues to target BIPOC representation in Bell senior management of at least 25% by 2025 and maintaining at least 40% BIPOC representation in new graduate and intern hires.

Gender diverse directors on the BCE Board (in %)
2018 29%
2019 29%
2020 25%
2021 36%
2022
0%

As of December 31, 2021, women represented 36% of the BCE Board of Directors. Going forward, we target a minimum of 35% gender-diverse directors. Upon the election of all director nominees at BCE’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting, this target will continue to be met, with five of the director nominees, representing 38% of all directors, identifying as women. At the end of 2021, women represented 33% of Bell leaders at the VP level and above. Our support for gender equity in the workplace has been recognized with Platinum Parity Certification by Women in Governance.

Bell was again recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2021. To further accelerate diversity and inclusion on our team, Bell partnered with the Onyx Initiative, which brings together major companies and academic institutions to support professional development and recruiting opportunities for Black post-secondary students and graduates. We also teamed up with the Black Professionals in Tech Network, Ascend Canada and Indigenous Works to drive progress in hiring and promotion for BIPOC talent in Canadian telecom and tech, and joined with BIPOC TV & Film to launch Hire BIPOC to connect creators and crew with opportunities in Canadian media.

 

Privacy and information security

Our customers, team members and investors expect us to demonstrate that we collect data appropriately, use it for purposes that advance their interests and keep it secure. Our approach to data governance encompasses the protection and appropriate use of data across its lifecycle, and we incorporate data governance proactively as a core consideration in all our business initiatives and technology decisions.

We expect our team members selected for the Be Cyber Savvy Information Security training program to complete the full training cycle by the end of 2022. This training program includes onboarding to our specialized Be Cyber Savvy platform, performing phishing simulations and taking four cybersecurity courses. To measure the success of our training program, we aim to improve the phishing simulation report rate of our team members on a year over year basis. We also aim to align our program to the ISO 27001 standard for information security management by the end of 2023.

Key target:
Selected employees to complete Bell’s Be Cyber Savvy information security training program by the end of 2022

As of December 31, 2021

Onboarded 100%
Training completed 70%
Target 100%

During 2021, we onboarded 100% of selected team members, and 70% completed the full training program. We are aligning our information security management system to the ISO 27001 standard, achieving 50% conformity at the end of 2021

To learn more about our ESG approach and our reporting, please visit BCE.ca/Responsibility.